re: The Heritage Foundation in this year's Mandate for Leadership, a well-accepted planning document for incoming Republican administrations since Reagan's, rakes Bush over the coals. Edwin J. Feulner, Heritage president and heretofore regarded as a strong Bush man, chastised the president, noting, "Sadly, commitment to principle has been missing in Washington's politics for quite some time." The document paints Bush as a big spender, adding to entitlements with his Medicare drug plan and loading the economy with regulations. Echoing criticism of Reaganites, Stuart Butler and Larry Wortzel, Heritage veeps for domestic and international studies, respec- tively, write, "Public diplomacy has been weak, and sound foreign policy initiatives have failed to win support from our allies because they were not accompanied by well-planned public diplomacy efforts. Observers can therefore be forgiven for concluding that Bill Clinton's declaration that 'the era of big government is over' now seems rather premature."
Clinton was far more fiscally conservative than Bush. But it seems only the very smartest Republicans can figure that out, the others are just rooting for the "home team".
It's beginning to dawn on me that Americans are much more naive (stupid?) than they were 15-20+ years ago.
John |
